{"id":232,"date":"2009-10-23T22:49:28","date_gmt":"2009-10-24T02:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.auroraforce.org\/blog\/?p=232"},"modified":"2009-10-23T22:49:28","modified_gmt":"2009-10-24T02:49:28","slug":"vong-war-annals-battle-of-aten-re-af-commandos-quiet-bastard-10232009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.auroraforce.org\/blog\/?p=232","title":{"rendered":"Vong War Annals – “Battle of Aten-Re (AF Commandos): Quiet Bastard” 10.23.2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Down in the bowels of the Illuminator<\/em>, Slate Bridger leaned his head back against a bulkhead, eyes closed, listening to the sounds of a ship in combat.\u00a0 His rifle rested against his thigh, one gloved hand wrapped around the upper half of its barrel.\u00a0 He took a deep, almost meditative breath and exhaled it slowly.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHow can he be so bloody calm<\/em>?\u201d\u00a0 Someone hissed in a whisper.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Slate tried not to smile.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t hard to pretend to be relaxed when you\u2019d been at this for as long as he had.\u00a0 It was almost reflexive.\u00a0 Put the rookies at ease.\u00a0 If the General wasn\u2019t worried, why should they worry?\u00a0 It was always a lie, of course, but one that kept the peace, kept people calm\u2014and that was part of his job.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSettle down,\u201d he said at length.\u00a0 \u201cGetting yourself worked into a lather doesn\u2019t do you any good.\u201d\u00a0 Slate cracked an eye open and looked at his petrified nephew, Trystan, who checked and then re-checked his gear for at least the tenth time since they\u2019d loaded in.\u00a0 Slate tried not to shake his head.\u00a0 If anyone\u2019s working themselves into a lather, it\u2019s him.<\/em>\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t blame the boy, though\u2014and a boy he was.\u00a0 Barely eighteen and a newly minted lieutenant and<\/em> Jedi Healer, the medic didn\u2019t have the same kind of combat training that most of the commandos under Slate\u2019s command had enjoyed.\u00a0 He caught Trystan\u2019s eye and smiled.\u00a0 The boy smiled back, though the smile was a rictus.\u00a0 He was scared stiff.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat goes double for you, Kel-Solan.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Trystan Chase nodded quickly.\u00a0 \u201cYessir.\u201d\u00a0 He gulped a breath and exhaled it slowly.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Finding his center.\u00a0 Good.\u00a0 Maybe Indy <\/em>did teach him something about being a combat medtech.<\/em>\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t sure why his sister had decided to send Trystan along.\u00a0 Foresight?\u00a0 He had no way of knowing.\u00a0 But he wasn\u2019t about to complain about having another Jedi at his back.\u00a0 Most of the commandos who\u2019d volunteered weren\u2019t Force-sensitive\u2014a blessing and a curse, Slate had decided.\u00a0 He wouldn\u2019t have to deal with anyone running off because \u2018the Force told me to.\u2019
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A shudder went through the bulkheads; the ship was changing direction.\u00a0 Slate Bridger nodded slowly, almost to himself, then looked at the two squadrons of commandos he\u2019d brought along from Xenen\u2014some veterans, some not, all volunteers, all thirty of them.\u00a0 \u201cLast checks, people,\u201d he said to them, voice quiet, but resonant.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want to get killed because someone\u2019s power packs aren\u2019t properly slotted or because the batteries died in someone\u2019s goggles.\u00a0 Triple-check it\u2014that goes for you too, Kel-Solan.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYessir,\u201d the medic snapped again, voice a little edgier this time.\u00a0 Slate smiled.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Maybe he <\/em>did inherit something from the both of them.<\/em>\u00a0 His eyes drifted toward the dagger that was barely visible in its sheath on the inside of Trystan\u2019s boot.\u00a0 More than one thing, I hope.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSir,\u201d one of his people\u2014Talman, not a rookie, but not exactly a veteran, either\u2014sounded tentative as she started to voice the question, steadying as he looked at her\u2014meeting his eye rather than flinching under his gaze.\u00a0 \u201cWhat exactly are we supposed to be doing here?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Slate had to smile.\u00a0 Talman was too young to remember the old days; they had been before her time.\u00a0 She\u2019d come to the Aurora Force when peacekeeping was the norm, not warfare.\u00a0 A trace of wistfulness entered his voice.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever General DeLong asks us to do, Madcap.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJust like the old days, eh, General?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He nodded, smiling wryly at Thomil Gunn, who\u2019d been with him since Conceli IX fell to the Republic.\u00a0 The sandy-haired man should have retired three months ago, but he\u2019d signed on for another two years of service.\u00a0 It was the only life Tommy had ever known.\u00a0 Just like him.\u00a0 \u201cJust like the old days, Tommy.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSo we just\u2026wait for orders, then?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThat we do, Madcap.\u201d\u00a0 Slate ran his fingers through his hair\u2014the white would be more prevalent than the red in another few years, he was fairly certain\u2014and stretched again, then started checking his own gear.\u00a0 \u201cOrders will come sooner than you think.\u00a0 Check those packs and make sure your plastics are ready to go in case we need them.\u201d\u00a0 He watched her for a moment as she snapped to her task.
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Children.\u00a0 That\u2019s who\u2019s fighting this war.\u00a0 And who\u2019s going to pay the price if we lose it.<\/em><\/p>\n

~ Erin<\/p>\n

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